More than one in three cars on the road in the Canary Islands belong to a car hire company. This is shown by data from the vehicle registration authorities in Spain. A cap is now being discussed in the Canary Islands. There is a prominent example of this.
Car hire is considered the number one means of transport for tourists in the archipelago, followed by public transport and taxis. If EMSICAN has its way, that is set to change soon. The acronym stands for the somewhat unwieldy ‚Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility in the Canary Islands‘.
A document now draws a comparison with other regions heavily reliant on tourism. It states that an upper limit on hire cars has been successfully introduced in those regions. Such a quota has been in place in Ibiza, for example, since last year. In the Canary Islands, by contrast, a «remarkably uncontrolled» rise in hire cars has been recorded.
The Canary Islands want fewer hire cars
According to EMSICAN, it is not the largest island in the Canary Islands that has the most hire cars, but the most popular one. Tenerife has 3,131 hire cars, whilst Gran Canaria has 10,434 – more than three times as many. Next comes Lanzarote with 2,643. In terms of registrations, four out of ten cars this year were hire cars. 60 per cent of all trips to landmarks are made by tourists in privately hired vehicles.
The most recent document states that there is a «need» to «regulate» hire cars. This is because, whilst there are numerous requirements regarding roadworthiness, servicing intervals and general condition, there is no upper limit on the number of licences issued. It goes on to say that, as part of this, a quota for electric vehicles could also be introduced.
Sources within the Canary Islands government explicitly refer to a draft phase. However, there is a willingness to follow the example set by the Balearic Islands. A specific regulation would first have to go through all the relevant committees, though. Rapid implementation is considered unlikely.
«Canary Islands plan to restrict hire cars»
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